Photo by Chris Drummond Fishers pose for a photo with their catches following the Lake Benton Walleye Tournament at Norwegian Camp Creek on Saturday morning.

LAKE BENTON– On a beautiful hot sunny day, the Lake Benton Sportsman Club hosted the seventh annual Walleye fishing tournament at the Norwegian Camp Creek on Saturday.

The tournament featured 38 boat teams of two that left the dock at 7 a.m. sharp. The 76 participants were down from the 2022 tournament total of 114.

Lake Benton Sportsman Club president Zach Swenson spoke on the tournament and turnout for this year’s competition.

“We started out doing an ice fishing tournament every winter,” Swenson said. “Then we got the idea of doing one in the summer. The numbers are lower than the last couple of years but we still had a pretty good turnout. As long as we have a Sportsman Club and the help needed, we will be doing this event every year.”

Along with being in the tournament, the community got a chance to enjoy some snacks and refreshments sponsored by the Lake Benton Lake Association.

As the boats left the dock one by one, they had six hours to patrol the lake to find the fish. Out of the 38 teams, five boat teams would be winners and get cash prizes ranging from $80 to $960.

The participants returned to the shore for the 1 p.m. weigh-in deadline. As the fish were being weighed, they continued to flop around on the board. The biggest fish took two people to hold down because of the movement.

The groups that took home the first-place prize for biggest walleye were Steve Griese and Dennis Zerke. Second place was Tony and Briggan Dykstra. Third place was Dale and Erin Lueck.

The Sportsman Club is a group of individuals who enjoy outdoor events and want to put on different events to support the community throughout the year. The Club consists of 10-15 active members

The Sportsman Club will continue to put on smaller events throughout the community of Lake Benton but the next big event will be the Ice Fishing tournament coming back again in January.